Light Theremin

If you and your group have any questions or get stuck as you work through this in-class exercise, please ask the instructor for assistance. Have fun!

  1. If you haven’t already, please go to the Arduino website and download the “Arduino IDE” for either Windows or Mac, and then install the software on your computer.

    Materials needed: piezo photoresistor

    • 1 Piezo (this is basically a small speaker)
    • 1 Photoresistor (this is a light sensor)
    • 1 10k-ohm resistor with the following striping in order: brown, black, orange, gold
    • 1 Long Red Wire
    • 1 Long Black Wire
    • 2 Short Wires
    • 1 Medium Wire
    • 1 Long Wire

  2. Connect as shown in this diagram (note: the Piezo legs are closer together than displayed here – just make sure the two adjacent wires in Column A are in the same row as the Piezo legs):

    breadboard

    Note: you can check out a simulated version of this Arduino project

  3. Using the provided USB cable plug your Arduino into your computer.

  4. Launch the arduino software.

  5. Go to the top menu: File -> Examples -> 10.StarterKit_BasicKit -> p06_LightTheremin

    menu navigation

  6. Upload the Light Theremin code to your Arduino by pressing the Upload button.

    upload

  7. Once the code is uploaded and running, there is a 5 second initialization phase where the ambient light level is recorded. After that, move your finger around the photoresistor to make some crazy Theremin sounds! Enjoy!

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